Blog : Willabay

Some would say that title is impossible. After all, load into a tour boat and take a trip around these shores and there’s very little that looks particularly affordable. Even the homes that look affordable come with seven figure asking prices, albeit low seven figures. Lake Geneva has historically been home to significant wealth, and the trend in recent years has only accelerated that status. Several years ago a $10,000,000 home on this lake was viewed as a fortunate albatross. It was neat, and lavish, but it didn’t make any particular sense, even for the wealthy. Today, a $10,000,000 home would be met with immediate buyer interest, as the liquidity that traditionally dried up around $5,000,000 now meets little resistance up to and through double that amount. Yes, Lake Geneva is for the wealthy, everyone knows that.

But that’s not where the story ends. Because Lake Geneva isn’t just for hedge fund managers and successful entrepreneurs. It’s for anyone who desires something different. It’s for everyone who wakes up on a Saturday morning in the summer and wonders what they’re going to do that day. It’s for those who are stuck in traffic on a Friday night, but not in the northbound lanes. It’s for those with the means to change their weekends and change their motivations, even if that doesn’t allow for a lakefront home or a lavish off-water spread.

Yes, you could buy a cottage in one of our area towns for $80k and use that for your summer house. That’s perfectly acceptable, and encouraged. But let’s assume you’re not looking to buy squalor. Let’s assume you want something easy, something low effort, something large enough to contain your family and/or friends in some form of luxury. If you’re thinking I’m going to suggest a tiny home, please read this bit on the folly of the tiny home. No, I’m suggesting a condo. A simple, easy, two or three bedroom condo. Something affordable. Something in the scene. Something that allows a weekend to be entirely and completely different from the 9-5. If you’re looking at Lake Geneva, as you should be, these condos have names and well defined price brackets. If you can spend $180-250k, you’re in luck. Lake Geneva has sensible, stylish options for you, too.

I’ve written about this particular segment often, because it deserves inclusion in any vacation home discussion. The condominiums that I find appealing in this segment include Abbey Hill, Abbey Villas, and Willabay. There are others, for sure, but these are the three that fit into this lower price point while still offering some meaningful value. When times were bad, these small condo associations were chock full of inventory. Too much inventory, some slight foreclosure activity, and overall malaise. Today, these complexes have recovered completely, and they offer some of the easiest value in our broad market. Let’s take a look at each one to see what’s happening.

Abbey Hill is perhaps my favorite. The complex isn’t right in town, like the Villas, but I appreciate the privacy. There’s a basic swimming pool and some nice topography here, all less than a mile from downtown Fontana. Today three units are available, priced from $199k to $255k. One of those three units is pending sale. The condo fees at Abbey Hill are around $350 monthly, and taxes run around $3k annually. Factor in a 70% mortgage and you’re looking at a delightful vacation home for the cost of one long weekend rental at the Abbey Resort. Best of all, the units are all a bit tired, so a basic surface renovation can make a dramatic impact.

The Abbey Villas are adjacent the Abbey Resort on the harbor. That harbor is being renovated this off-season, so look forward to a beautiful new harbor (if there is such a thing) by next summer. The villas have a series of swimming pools, and are undeniably in the heart of the action. The beach, restaurants, and parks are all just a short walk from these units. Inventory swelled during the crisis, but today there are just two units available in the MLS, priced from $230-272k. Some units here can sell into the $400s, if they are harbor front. Taxes are similar to Abbey Hill, though assessments are a bit higher. Pets are not permitted here, so if you hate dogs and cats, you’re in luck.

In Williams Bay, Willabay fits into this particular segment. If you like being close to the water (short walk), but dislike the bustle of Fontana on a summer weekend, then Willabay might be a better fit. There’s a pool here and some tennis courts, all close to the Williams Bay lakefront and beach. There are five available units priced between $179-235k, with one unit pending sale. Taxes are similar to the Fontana units, and assessments are, on average, a bit lower than Abbey Hill. These units come with one car attached garages, as do most of the Abbey Hill units (the Villas lack garages).

If you love the Lake Geneva scene, and you’d like to be part of it, I’d gladly sell you a $5,000,000 lakefront house. I’d be happy to, really. But if that’s not in the budget, and a $200k condo near-ish the lake sounds more appealing, just let me know. You have solid options here, and I’m happy to guide you to the best value.

Take to the highways and county roads this summer and you’ll notice plenty of things. You’ll notice that semi drivers often change lanes with relatively little warning, which is especially rude when I’m in the middle of writing a lengthy email. I’m beginning to think it’s not just texting and driving that’s dangerous, but also emailing and driving. Perhaps the public awareness campaigns will tweak their message. You’ll also notice motorcycles. I’m afraid of motorcycles, I admit it. My dad told me once that a motorcycle driver took a corner too fast near some house he lived in when he was a child. He said he had to go in the house to get towels and sheets to help his mom mop up the blood from the street. I find this to be implausible, completely and utterly so. There’s no way you’d worry about mopping up the street especially if rain was in the forecast. You’ll also notice campers and RVs and tow behind camping apparatuses. The world goes camping, even if we don’t.

There’s something else that’s common on these roads in this season and in the cars, trucks, and SUVs that are towing these camping things: The occupants of the car are generally in a fair mood. They’re going camping, with that pop up camper thing, and they’re happy about it. They’re driving someplace far, or someplace near, but they’re going to get there and then they’re going to set up their camper and they’re going to pop open their folding lawn chairs and they’re going to eat hotdogs around the fire. When night falls, they’re going to sleep in that camper, mom and dad in the bed part that sticks out over the bed of the truck, and the kids somewhere else. I’ve never been in one of these camper things, so I’m just imagining how it all works. But regardless of the cramped quarters, the lack of finesse, these people who do these things are content. They’re content because they’re getting away from their weekday lives and living differently, if only for awhile until the time comes to pay the park attendant the weekend rent and fold the camper back to its traveling form.

I’m never going to camp like this. Odds are, neither are you. But we can do things like this in a more comfortable way, and we can do them affordably. For every $7MM listing that Lake Geneva can offer you, there are 20 $189k vacation condos. For every $800k association home with a boatstlip there are five $220k association homes with lake access. This is a market for the affluent, sure, but it’s a market for anyone who has a few extra dollars of disposable income and a feverish desire to get out of town on the weekends. Lake Geneva has always been the place, but it’s not just the place for business icons and those of affluence, it’s for everyone who wants to make a few sacrifices and spend their weekends living in a different place, in a different way, just like those happy campers who clog up in the interstate.

Along those lines, consider the economical Lake Geneva vacation condominium. I have some rules for this sort of purchase, and it includes avoiding condo-tels, because those are ridiculous. You’re also not allowed to buy some condo in some absurd setting, like the condos that were created in the part of Williams Bay best left for lower value housing and commercial buildings. So let’s look at the condo market, and consider where you should be considering. Willabay Shores, this is an easy one. Priced from the painfully low $130s up through the $250s, these are simple two and three bedroom condominiums. They’re not new, so be ready to do some updating, but they’re walkable to the lake and the Williams Bay beach, and they have a pool and tennis courts and one car garages. You’ll feel part of the scene here, because you are part of the scene. Grab a fishing pole and walk across to the piers to fish. It’s terrific fun, and Willabay is still cheap.

Bayside Pointe is just up the road from Willabay, a bit farther from the water but still close. The units are newer, larger, so if you’re looking for newer and larger and you’re in the $200-300k price range, these are worth a look. You won’t get any lake access with Willabay or Bayside Point, but you’ll be close. Can you tell that proximity matters? Walking distance to the lake is a good thing, and you should want it. Unless you’re considering Geneva National, in which case you’re not walking distance to any lake (Como doesn’t count in this context), but you’re tucked inside a beautiful enclave with what I deem to be the finest golf in the area. You needn’t be a golfer to vacation here, because who could hate beautifully manicured lawns, even if there are small holes with flags sticking out of them every so often? If you’re a buyer in the $100-$300k range and you’re looking for a Lake Geneva vacation home, Geneva National should probably be the first place you consider. I have two condos in GN in this entry level range pending, and the buyers are making wise decisions. The values are still depressed, so there’s still value to be found. Yes, the market there is subject to some tumult, but you won’t mind so much when you’re living large in a very affordable vacation home.

In Fontana, affordability is nicely intertwined with the extremely unaffordable. In town, you can buy a condo for $700k. Or you can buy an Abbey Villa between $199-$299k. The villas are older, so they’re not huge and they’re not particularly high end (unless you find a renovated unit), but they will get you into the Fontana scene on the cheap. They’re sort of part of the hotel but mostly not part of the hotel, but you have pools to use and the beach a short walk away. You can’t bring your pets to the villas, so if you need to bring Fido each weekend, the villas won’t work. If you need to bring your dog, consider Abbey Hill. A bit farther from the lake, but still close to the scene. The units here are diverse, interesting, and I’ve always liked this place. In the $200-300k range, there’s no better option in Fontana.

Abbey Springs might take offense to that statement, and if they did they’d have a point. Want the whole scene in one development? The tennis, the golf, the pools, the beach, the restaurants, etc and etc? Then Abbey Springs is for you. Units between $140k and $350k offer a bit of everything, including some very odd floor plans. The designs are a bit haphazard, but they’re also fun and quite effective. I’d be considering Abbey Springs if I wanted an amenity packed association in the heart of the Lake Geneva scene.

If you’re looking for an affordable weekend retreat, skip the camper and the packing and the cramped sleeping arrangements, and just talk to me about a Lake Geneva vacation condominium in one of these terrific associations.

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Geneva Lakefront Realty is a Williams Bay, Wisconsin based full service real estate brokerage. Information on this site is deemed reliable but is in no way guaranteed. Geneva Lakefront Realty is a Fair Housing Broker and a Limited Liability Corporation in the state of Wisconsin serving the Lake Geneva real estate market.
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